A variety of devices are available to provide access to content and communications, including devices that support multimedia information. Computers, mobile devices, personal digital assistants, set-top boxes, tablet computers, television sets, audio systems, home theater systems, and the like provide access to content, such as high definition videos, and communications, such as electronic mail. The content and communications may comprise audio, video, text, and/or graphics information and may conform to one or more formats. Content formats include, but are not limited to, the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard, mp3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3), the PDF (portable document format) format, and the like.
The content and communications may be transported between devices via one or more communication protocols. Communication protocols include, but are not limited to, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), HDMI (High-definition Multimedia Interface), Bluetooth, and the like.
To provide access to content and communications, each device may support one or more content formats, one or more communication protocols, and one or more communication interfaces. One type of device may support the content format(s) and/or communication protocol(s) required by one type of content, while another device may not support one or more of the required content format(s) and/or communication protocol(s), or may support one or more of the required content format(s) and/or communication protocol(s) in a degraded manner. As a result, some devices may not be capable of providing access to select content or communications, or may only be able to provide access in a degraded manner.